1. Field
The disclosed embodiments are related to integrated circuit (IC) chip cooling mechanisms. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments are related to designs of a heat dissipation structure for an IC chip.
2. Related Art
The dramatic increase in the power and speed of IC chips in computer systems, such as servers, has given rise to increasing challenges in removing the heat generated by these IC chips during system operation. Some chip cooling techniques place an IC chip inside a lidded package which interfaces with an air-cooled heat sink for heat dissipation. Other chip cooling techniques provide further improvement on the heat dissipation path (also referred to as the “thermal path”) by reducing thermal resistance between the chip surface and the heat sink. For example, some techniques replace the air-cooled heat sink with a liquid-cooled cold-plate. Other techniques attempt to reduce thermal resistance by eliminating any material between the chip surface and the heat sink.
Separately, direct liquid cooling techniques which can bring coolant in direct contact with the silicon surface have been proposed. To avoid electric shorting problems associated with these techniques, a dielectric fluid can be used as the coolant. However, the limited chip surface area can limit the amount of heat that can be effectively removed by the coolant, and can also be subject to the risk of overheating and boiling the coolant. Such risk subsequently limits the effective operating power of the IC chip.
Hence, what is needed is an IC chip cooling mechanism without the above-described problems.